Summer Sangria

I love white wine in the summer time, its refreshing and goes so well with all your grilled veggies or antipasto platters. I went to the farmer's market and sampled some local wine this weekend and the lady assured me the wine I was tasting was fabulous for a sangria. I went right home cut up some fruits, squeezed some citrus and...Voila, I had delicious sangria! It was refreshing, delicious and absolutely gorgeous, I was in love! I like to add extra liquor to my sangria, like a flavored vodka or, in this case, a strawberry white rum that went so well with the oranges and cherries. You can also add sparkling water or seltzer to your drink for a bit of bubbly, I didn't have any so mine was just as is. I like to let it "marinate" in the fridge for a few hours to let all the flavors come together, but feel free to drink it right up if you don't want to wait.

When I make wine drinks I steer clear of buttery wines like Chardonnay. I like to use a more crisp and sweeter wine. My favorites for wine spritzers or sangrias are riesling, sauvignon blanc or a muscat. These wines already have citrus under tones and are great bases for white wine drinks. You can also use champagne or cava, which is very popular for brunch drinks. I chose a white wine made locally at the Cascade Mountain Winery, which is sold at my farmer's market. The wine was called Summertide and it was crisp, fruity and very refreshing. Perfect for a fruity sangria on the rocks!

This recipe makes half a pitcher and serves 6, in white wine glasses.

Ingredients

1 Bottle favorite white wine, I used Summertide from Cascade Mountain Winery which is similar to a dry riesling.
1 Cup strawberry white rum, or any clear fruit flavored liquor.
1/3 Cup fresh squeezed orange juice.
Juice fresh squeezed from 2 limes.
3 Tbsp Dandelion syrup, I make homemade syrup; get the recipe for this here. You can substitute any
sweetener you like here such as; honey, maple syrup or just sugar.
1 Orange, sliced thin.
1 Lime, sliced thin.
1 Cup of organic strawberries, sliced thin.
1 Cup of organic cherries, pits removed and chopped in half.
Ice

Directions

Fill a large pitcher with ice. Mix all ingredients into the pitcher and stir. Let sit in the fridge for 2 hours so flavors can meld. Pour over ice and enjoy!

I live to serve this in white wine glasses.